2024 FESTIVAL GUESTS
Pianist Fei-Fei
Praised for her “bountiful gifts and passionate immersion into the music she touches” (The Plain Dealer), pianist Fei-Fei is a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition and a top finalist at the 14th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. She continues to build a reputation for her poetic interpretations, charming audiences with her “passion, piquancy and tenderness” and “winning stage presence” (Dallas Morning News), both in the US and internationally, including her native China.
Fei-Fei’s concert tours have taken her across the globe in concerto performances, recitals and chamber music collaborations alike. Recent projects include artist-in-residence with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic touring in Germany, a Carnegie Hall performance and tour of Spain with the New York Youth Symphony, a 19-city tour of China with her Aletheia Piano Trio, as well as concerto engagements with the Costa Rica National Symphony, Shenzhen Symphony, Pacific Symphony, and Amarillo Symphony orchestras. Her 2022-23 season highlights included performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 at Lincoln Center with the Pegasus Symphony as well as performances of lesser-represented repertoire such as concertos by Leroy Anderson, Florence Price, Clara Schumann, and Xiaogang Ye.
Fei-Fei was showcased prominently as a Cliburn finalist in the documentary
film, Virtuosity, about the 2013 Cliburn Competition, which premiered on PBS in August 2015. Deeply committed to sharing her joy for music and connecting with communities, Fei-Fei also engages students and community audiences through frequent school and outreach concerts and masterclasses. Born in Shenzhen, Fei-Fei began piano lessons at the age of 5. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she studied with Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky, and is currently pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree with pianist Yefim Bronfman at Manhattan School of Music.
Alexander Liu
Winner of the Nozomi Yamaguchi Memorial Scholarship Award
Alexander Liu is a 12-year-old piano student, currently studying at Juilliard Pre- College under the esteemed tutelage of Professor Orli Shaham and recognized as a Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. His musical journey
began at the tender age of five and a half, under the guidance of Mrs. Felicia Feng Zhang, Dr. Diyi Tang, and Professor Miyoko Lotto of the Manhattan School of Music.
While still in his early years, Alexander's list of achievements is noteworthy. He secured the grand prize at the National Young Virtuosi Recital Competition (2023) and clinched first-place honors from several esteemed competitions, including the Philadelphia International Piano Competition (2023), XIII Chopin International Piano Competition at Hartford (2022), Millersville International Piano Competition (2022), Anselmo Academy IV International Youth Music Competition (2022), VI Paderewski International Piano Competition (2021), and the American Protégé International Music Talent Competition (2021). His notable performances led to him receiving scholarships such as the Takako Saegusa Scholarship at Juilliard Pre-College, the Alex Assoian Scholarship at the Manhattan School of Music Precollege Division, scholarship in Morningside Music Bridge and Pre-College Scholarship in Taubman Festival 2023.
Alexander's dedication to his craft has opened doors to prestigious platforms
like Isaac Stern Auditorium, New York Town Hall, and Carnegie Hall, the latter of which has hosted him for over ten winner recitals. Memorable highlights of his music journey thus far were his performances with the Sound Symphony Orchestra and Brooklyn Conservatory Community Orchestra for Mozart’s Concerto No. 23 and Mozart’s Concerto No. 21.
Outside of his musical achievements, Alexander has excelled academically,
achieving First Class Honors with Distinction in RCM Piano Practical Level 10 at age 9.
Beyond his musical pursuits, his commitment to giving back to the community is
evident in his leadership role at Piano Village Foundation/All Talent Academy and "Tutoring for a Good Cause." In 2023, his altruistic efforts were recognized when he was honored with The Gold Level President's Volunteer Service Award.
As an outdoor enthusiast, Alexander finds joy and connection with nature
through camping and cycling. He has found the perfect balance between academics, music, and community service, demonstrating exceptional time management skills.
Milena Martínez
Winner of the Phillip Kawin Memorial Scholarship Award
Milena Martínez is an award-winning Spanish pianist, currently based in New York City. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship awarded by La Caixa Foundation. In addition to providing career support, this scholarship advances Milena's research into developing and implementing new concepts for presenting classical music to broad and diverse audiences. This project builds on her previous research concerning how priorities in the arts evolve over time and profoundly affect the way musicians interpret and disseminate music amid shifting social expectations.
Milena made her debut in 2022 at Madrid's National Music Auditorium, organized by the Scherzo Foundation, where she shared the stage with such prominent musicians as Arcadi Volodos and Joaquin Achúcarro. She has performed extensively throughout Europe, both as a soloist and with orchestras including the Symphonic Orchestra of Castille and Leon and Sweelinck Baroque Orchestra, and has participated in many music festivals; Mozarteum Summer Academie, Academie of Laussane, International Music Holland Sessions and PresJovem.
In addition to her current postgraduate studies at Manhattan School of Music, she has studied at Reina Sofía School of Music in Madrid, Hochschule für Musik in Basel, and Conservatory van Amsterdam. She has worked with Ana Guijarro, Galina Eguiazarova, David Kuyken and Dr. Wael Farouk and she has received masterclasses of Ferenc Rados, Robert Levin, Claudio Martínez-Mehner, Boris Berman, Gordan Nikolic, Stephan Kovacevich, Dmitri Alexeev, Julian Martin, among others.
She is the first prize-winner at the VI Teresa Llacuna International Competition (2010), the XXX Marisa Montiel International Competition (2011), XVI Pedro Bote (2013), IX Ciudad del Ejido International Competition (2009), and XIX Jacinto Guerrero International Competition (2010), among others; she is the second prize-winner at the
XV Infanta Cristina Loewe-Hazen Competition (2010).
In 2018, she was awarded a Bösendorfer grand piano by the National Musical Foundation (NMF).
Jackie Herbein
Pianist Jacqueline Herbein, honored with Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association Teacher of the Year award in 2005, is an active soloist, ensemble performer and teacher in the Pittsburgh area. She considers the development of physical perception to be a cornerstone of her teaching and she recently added the ProformaVision technology (sEMG biofeedback) to her studio as a teaching enhancement. A Certificate in Anatomy and Physiology from the Massage Therapy Institute of Western Pennsylvania provides a solid academic foundation while independent work in Alexander Technique and teacher certification in therapeutic yoga heighten the movement insights she brings to this new technology and her work in general.​
Jacqueline Herbein regularly works with teachers and students of all ages and performance levels both in private lessons and master classes. She has become known for her creative approach in unraveling musicians’ pain and injury issues by working with biofeedback, imagery and alternative therapies in order to awaken connections within the body. Her articles have been published in The American Music Teacher, The Canadian Music Teacher and Clavier Companion journals and she regularly presents sessions on technique, perception and wellness to organizations and university pedagogy classes around the country, including the MTNA National Conference in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, the American Music Therapy Association Mid-Atlantic Region Conference, the Mississippi Piano Showcase, the Goshen College Piano Workshop and Academy and the Greater Pittsburgh Suzuki Institute.
Benjamin Steinhardt
Pianist Benjamin Steinhardt enjoys an international reputation for his innovative
teaching and regularly performs in the New York metro area. Placing an emphasis on
creativity and exploration his teaching incorporates concepts from the Taubman
Approach, Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory, Dalcroze, and somatic education to
give students the tools to reach their highest potential.
His writings and webinars have been featured on the MTNA, American Music
Teacher, Clavier Companion, TheCuriousPianoTeachers.org, and iPianoTeacher.com.
An artist of great versatility, Steinhardt is equally at home as pianist in the concert hall,
and as conductor in the orchestra pit. Recital and chamber performances as a pianist
include Zankel and Weill Recital Halls at Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and Greenwich
Music House. Work as a musical director includes Queens Theater in the Park, the
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the New York Musical Theater Festival, Bravo television and
cabaret spaces throughout NYC including The Metropolitan Room, Studio 54, and
Birdland. Mr. Steinhardt served as musical director for the Emmy award winning, “News
in Revue.”
Steinhardt is on the board of the Fairfield County Music Teachers Association
and co-administers “The Art of Piano Pedagogy,” an online community for professional
piano teachers with over 20,000 members.
www.benjaminsteinhardt.com
Nancy Modell
Nancy Modell, Suzuki Teacher Trainer with Taubman Approach
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Nancy Modell, an Ithaca College School of Music graduate in both piano
performance and music education, is very passionate about teaching music. In the 1980s, as a Teacher Trainer, she pioneered the Suzuki Piano Approach in Israel where she taught students and trained local piano teachers in Jerusalem.
Since 1992 she has been teaching in Springfield, NJ, inspiring students to reach their potential through innovative learning opportunities, including original composition, music events and field trips. Nancy continues to train teachers in the Suzuki Approach at Suzuki Summer Institutes throughout the USA. She has explored ways to introduce composition to students of all levels and has presented her approach at various teachers’ forums, including NAfME, NJMEA, NJMTA, MEA-NJ, PTC of NY, PTF, The Taubman Festival, the SAA, and most recently at 1era Convención Suzuki de las Américas in Cancun, Mexico. She has trained piano teachers at institutes, college courses and privately, and frequently teaches ECC!©. She is Piano Coordinator of the NJ Suzuki Workshop and is the Immediate Past President of MEA-NJ.
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